Russia launched a wave of missiles and drones at Kyiv for the second time in a week on Monday, killing at least 26 people and injuring more than 100, Ukrainian authorities said, a day before a crucial NATO summit in Turkey.
The latest assault came just days after another Russian attack killed more than 30 people in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned what he described as a "brutal strike", accusing Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians.
“The Russians’ tactics are unchanged: to inflict as much pain and damage as possible on Ukrainians and on Ukraine,” he said.
In the northeastern city of Sumy, Russian drone strikes killed two more people, according to the regional military administration. Another two people were killed in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Authorities said 18 people were killed in Kyiv and another eight in the nearby town of Vyshneve, where around 500 residents were evacuated following the attacks. Officials said approximately 30 residential buildings in the capital were damaged.
The overnight bombardment left a large crater beside a multi-storey apartment building in Kyiv's Podilsky district, splitting part of the structure in two. AFP journalists reported hearing more than 10 explosions during a ballistic missile alert, with flashes lighting up the night sky.
Emergency crews searched through the rubble and recovered bodies wrapped in white sheets. One woman screamed as rescuers removed a body from the eighth floor of a damaged building.
“I felt the need to pray,” said 60-year-old Oleksandr Kolomiyets outside the destroyed apartment block.
Anna Misko, 36, said she and her child survived “by a miracle” after taking shelter on the building's ground floor.
“Russia wants to destroy us,” she said. “There is no place that is safe in Ukraine.”
Zelensky, who is expected to meet US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in Turkey, urged the alliance to strengthen Ukraine's air defence capabilities, particularly against ballistic missiles.
He said Ukraine had been successful in intercepting drones and cruise missiles but lacked sufficient systems to stop ballistic missiles.
“It is simply absurd that in the modern world, production has still not been organised to the extent that is necessary to protect people from ballistic terror,” he said, adding that Kyiv expected “decisions” on air defence at the summit.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in Ankara that allies and partner nations must continue providing Ukraine with the support it needs.
According to Zelensky, Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 attack drones during the assault.
Russia's defence ministry said the "massive strike" targeted military-industrial enterprises as well as fuel and energy facilities across several Ukrainian regions.
Kyiv resident Oleksandr Seleznyov said the conflict had entered "a new phase".
“I think the Russians want to make Kyiv uninhabitable for civilians,” he said.
Zelensky said the situation in Vyshneve remained difficult because of a secondary detonation and called for security services to determine its cause.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had carried out one of its deepest strikes inside Russian territory since the war began nearly four and a half years ago, targeting an oil refinery in Russia's Omsk region, around 2,500 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Zelensky said the operation used upgraded long-range "Fire Point" drones.
“Siberia is now also within reach of Ukrainian precision,” he said.
